Doppelganger
by xBakaTulipx
Summary: Season Four changes the events of New Moon Rising. What happens when Willow tries to summon up the part of herself that will have the courage to tell Tara she loves her? A big mess.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: PLEASE READ THIS HERE- I'm working on a series of connected stories. This was actually the first one, they rewrite certain events of certain episodes but come out with a mostly similar result. If you've read Anywhere But Here, or Unused, I'm sure you've seen things about Vampire Willow that she never said or did... well here they are. :)

Chapter One

Hiss. Sizzle. Spark. Fire? Daylight? What? She dropped to a shaded patch on the floor rolling to put out the flames, then crawled under the bed for safety. Painted red lips curled into a pout, "I hate the sun." she whined to herself.

It didn't take long for her to figure out where she was, since there were only two places she could be: her world, where anyone accidentally caught out past sundown was a tasty snack, or the other world... the light fluffy one with a slayer ruining the fun.

She confirmed it was definitely the latter when the door swung open and she saw a pair of stylish yet affordable boots attached presumably to legs, attached presumably to a person, who could have been a snack if she didn't recognize the sound of the slayer's voice calling out. "Willow? You here?"

The boots paced around the room over to the bed under which she hid, paused, messed with something on the bed, then walked over to the other bed in the room with and sitting down with a sigh, "Guess not."

Page tearing, scribble scribble, footsteps, door opens... door closes.

She scrambled out into part of the room that was shaded and went about closing the curtains. "Much better." She brushed the under-the-bed dust bunnies from her leather pants. She looked at what was on the bed, a diary and a spell book. She picked up the diary and ran her fingers over the cover, reading the pen marks: Cursed are those who read these words... oh... how cute.

Well it was easy to assume that it technically belonged to her, at least the her in this world. One page had a paper clip attached to it. She flipped to the page. The clip held a picture of a shy looking cutie with bleached hair, roots showing just a bit, soft lips: In other words the perfect girl. A tongue snaked out and moistened the painted lips.

The pages around the picture detailed a transition in feelings, from wonder to confusion to desire to shyness, all circling around this babe, Tara her name was listed.

"I think she likes me... I hope she likes me... I want her to like me the way I like her... I wish I could tell her but I know if I try to say it, it will come out sounding like verbal diarrhea, just like everything I try to say. I have to tell her tonight when she comes over... I will make it happen."

A light smirk rested on the lips, everything is vibrantly clear all of a sudden. A quick glance at the clock proved that the sun would set soon. She walked over to the other bed and picked up the note the slayer had left.

"Wil, spending the night with Riley, see you tomorrow in class. – Buffy"

Even more perfect.

She walked over to the dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans and light, flowing, pinky, fluffy t-shirt... perfect disguise. She rolled up her leather clothes and hid them in a ball under the bed. She grabbed the two books off the bed and shoved them into a corner of the room amongst schoolbooks.

She was grateful that there was no way to see her reflection. Pink was not her color. She looked good in the black of night and the red of blood, and if she played her cards right tonight, that is what she would get.

There was a knock on the door, and she looked up, "Door's open," she cooed out, and the door slowly creaked open and Tara's face poked into the room. "H-hi, Willow."

She flashed a smile at Tara. "Hey, come on in."

Tara watched the other girl's eyelids lower slightly, the light in the room was already dim and with a few candles lit behind her, Tara's eyes saw a halo of goddess-like-ness around her... great she had been spending so much time with Willow that her thinking was following Willow's speech patterns; an inward giggle of happiness bubbled in her chest.

"You said you wanted to work on a spell," Tara said stepping into the room and closing the door firmly behind her.

"I've got a really special spell in mind," she cooed, her voice liquid honey, dripping slowly, sticky, delicious. She clasped both of her hands around one of Tara's and pulled her over to the bed, making sure the door was locked.

Tara sat with a bright blush caressing her cheeks when she crawled onto the bed on all fours, feline, even her eyes seemed to flicker in the light the way a cat's would. 

"Wh-what kind of spell?" Tara stuttered feeling Willow's hot breath on her shoulder... her neck... her chest. She fought to keep her eyes open, when she wanted to just surrender to that warmth, but did Willow feel for her the way she felt for...

"You'll see," she cooed.

+

"Ow..." The world was one black and orange smear before Willow's eyes. She sat up and rubbed her head where it hit the floor. It was the floor right? She had fallen off the bed mid-spell, right? She took both hands to her eyes rubbing until the vision cleared.

She stumbled to her feet swaying slightly. This was all just one of those dreams. She stood in the middle of an abandoned street. To her left there was a park; a swing was broken, seat hanging by one chain... slide was rusting and wearing away, monkey bars were missing both the monkeys and the bars. To her right was an empty field. The sun was setting around her. Rush hour, there should be cars...where were the cars? Oh right this was a dream, no cars... a manifestation of her fear of opening up and admitting her crush...the uh...empty loneliness creating an empty landscape in her subconscious. However, if this was a dream why did her head hurt so much?

A van came roaring around the corner, wheels screeching. Willow was a deer in the headlights, her legs felt brick-y jell-o... too stiff too move but not stiff enough to support her weight; but the choice to move was made for her when the van pulled up beside her and four arms poured out and pulled her inside before zooming off.

Willow let out a shriek, but no one seemed to notice, three people were crouched over some monitor on the dashboard as one of them stepped hard on the gas pedal. Blood pounded in her ears blocking out the voices conversing.

"Toto," she thought, "I don't think we're in Sunnydale anymore."

She stumbled to her feet swaying slightly when the van took another hard turn and she flew off her feet into the wall of the van, hitting her head, and once again passing out.

+

The first sense that came back was smell: musty, dusty, familiar. The smell of books. A library, but not the college library no, this was... this couldn't be... Willow's eyes blinked open. "Wh... what?"

"Giles! She's awake!" A voice beside her called out. A voice she knew, she sat abruptly and spun to face the speaker.

"Oz?" She managed to get out.

The dirty blonde boy raised an eyebrow, "That's my name."

"But...but... you..."

"You got quite a knock on the noggin, twice. I think that's a new record."

Clad in the greenish gray sweatshirt , the one that always looked so fuzzy, Giles walked over to the table in the middle of the library wiping off his glasses. "Good,"

"Giles!" Willow leapt up from the table, then fell back still dizzy.

"I told you, you got a nice goose egg, so just relax, the vampires can't get you here," Oz explained.

"But how is this here? The school got blown up last year." Willow protested, "And... why is everyone wearing dark colors and...where's Buffy?"

Some of the other people who had followed Giles into the room raised eyebrows,

"Just a little confusion brought on by the head injuries..." Giles muttered, "What were you doing out there past curfew?"

"Curfew? I don't have a curfew." Willow said, now a college student she lived by her own rules... her own... "in bed by 11 unless patrolling with Buffy" rules.

"The town curfew," Oz said, "I know you had your brain rattled around in there, but you should know anyways that the vampires swarm as soon as the sun sets."

Willow shook her head, "No. no. no. None of this is real. Giles... the school...the library is supposed to be gone... Oz you... you left me...we were dating and you left me and I... I found someone else and... and..."

"She got hit harder than we thought... nice driving" one of the others said to another.

"D-don't you go to this school?" Giles asked raising an eyebrow with a scrutinizing glance at Willow.

"I graduated last year right at the explode-y thing I told you about. This is not the real world Giles and it's me! Willow Rosenberg? Remember?"

"Willow Rosenberg... you're not Willow Rosenberg," Oz said.

"Yes I am!"

"Willow Rosenberg got vamped two years ago."

"The school has been keeping records since it happens so often." Giles explained.

"Wait... a vampire... a... oh my god." Willow felt her knees about to give out, she grabbed onto the table to stay standing. "This is her world..."

"Her world? What do you mean?" Giles asked.

"Okay... um... last year there was this little incident where I helped someone with a spell to... retrieve something she lost which turned out to be some kinda amulet she was gonna use for bad things...and we accidentally brought a vampire me to my world... and it wasn't pretty but we sent her back here... and... now... I'm here..."

"Intriguing."

"Do you want us to give her a sedative?" One of the guys offered,

"No..." Giles looked from the man to Willow, "No, go on Willow,"

"The...that's it...that's all I remember."

"You said a spell caused her to enter your world last time...were you working on a spell this time?" Oz said.

Willow sat down in a chair, "Well yes..."

"What kind of spell was it?"

"A... it was... um... a spell to... summon the courage to... tell someone...something."

"It must have been a great deal of courage you needed to require a spell,"

"Well... you've met this vampire... your other self...," Giles rubbed his temples in frustration, "near as I can tell.. you and the vampire... you are one and the same, the same entity in different universes... in theory there are infinite universes based on our different actions and decisions..." Giles sat at the table. "Say this morning you had the option to have toast... or cereal... and you chose toast...there is another universe where you chose the cereal. So in the indefinite number of worlds there is an indefinite number of yous... so the spell must have taken whichever you was strongest and switched places with it."

"And the strongest me is...vampire me?"

"Makes sense," Oz looked pensive, "She's already dead, she doesn't have a soul... she's got little to fear except Mister Golden Sun."

"But... but that means she's back in my world." She shot out of her seat, "She could be with Tara... she could be... touching her... or she could kill her! She's gonna eat her... oh god... no I have to get back!"

"Tara?" Giles asked

"The... the uh... person I uh... needed to... tell something,"

"Ah a confession of love, the hardest three words ever... except maybe "Your puppy died"...that one is hard too," Oz said.

"How are you so certain she will have her hands on Tara?" Giles asked.

"Well if she IS me, she probably thinks like me...and finds... the same people attractive...and I'm gonna throw up..."

Oz got up and got her a bucket. "Yak in here if you so desire."

"Well now that we know what happened we can fix it. We just need to find the right spell to undo it," Giles headed for the bookshelf when the library doors swung out.

"Where is she?" a voice snarled in the darkness.

Willow spun recognizing the voice, "Xander?"..."Not Xander..."


	2. Chapter 2

** Chapter Two**

"Y-y-you... I...W-w-wil-..." Tara stammered out before Willow pressed a finger to her lips to silence her.

"Shh... don't talk," Willow's voice dripped, "I want you to try a new spell with me," with one hand on Tara's shoulder and guided her down onto the bed, the bleached hair fanned out on the bed with the roots now visible. "And if we do it right..." She moved her knee over Tara's hip, effectively straddling her, "Then you will feel a white, hot, passionate light pulsing through your body," she cooed lowering herself over Tara.

'This…isn't…'

Tara couldn't bring herself to finish the thought for Willow's lips had closed over hers, sending a sweet lightning bolt to her heart. Her eye's widened. Willow locked her legs at Tara's hips as she licked at Tara's lips seeking entrance. Even if her other self had horrible fashion sense she still had great taste in girls.

She gave Tara's breast a slight squeeze. The girl let out a slight surprised squeak, and Willow seized the opportunity to plunge her tongue into Tara's mouth. Warm, wet, she'd bitten her tongue in nervousness and the coppery tang was just a tease but delicious nonetheless.

'It's a dream...' Tara thought 'Another dream...but... it can't be a dream I actually feel it... but this isn't right...this isn't... this... isn't..."

She could feel the clothes slipping off her body, she felt her arms pinned above her head and unable to move, she shifted slightly, lost and confused, but the hot kisses all over her body were distracting her common sense. Willow's teasing, it's what she dreamed about but how could this be happening? She wanted to pull away but she trusted Willow.

'This...this is weird this is...' her thought had come back but she didn't realize why, now she did, Willow was laying a trail of wet kisses down her stomach. She wasn't sure when, but her pants and panties were down around her ankles, and most of Willow's clothes were gone. She felt her cheeks turning bright red as Willow pulled off her underwear.

"Aww it's your time of the month... how cute..."

Tara fought to process the words, the actions, this was wrong. This was wrong. What was wrong here? Little jolts of pleasure shot through her body, but tears were forming in her eyes she struggled. "W..wait! Stop!" She tried to move but realized how effectively she was pinned down, the tears came faster. "S-stop! You're not Willow!"

Willow sat back on her knees pouting. "Yes I am."

"No... no... you're... y-y-you are th-that other Willow..." Tara seized the opportunity to sit up, and pulled up her pants. "Sh-she told me about you... you're the... th-the vampire..." she grabbed her jacket and pulled it on, stumbling to her feet.

"Oh... you're right," With a smirk her face changed, eyes growing fierce brow wrinkling, fangs growing. Tara let out a shriek and stumbling started for the door, fumbling with the lock.

Not threatened at all, Willow took her time getting redressed and sat on the bed for a second watching Tara try to get the lock open. She succeeded and bolted from the room.

"One... two... three... ready or not, here I come." She got up from the bed and started down the hallway just in time to see Tara turn and disappear down a stairwell. The chase was on.

Blood was pounding in Tara's ears; how could she have been so stupid? How could she have been fooled? She was better than that, more skilled than that... how could she have let this happen? She was so blind, she wanted to be with Willow so badly that she let her primal desire get the better of her senses, the one where she knew it wasn't entirely Willow's aura... it was almost the same but... just a little different. A less adept witch would have missed it.

She tripped over her own feet and tumbled down a flight of stairs. She glanced up to see Willow walking, not running, but calmly, confidently walking after her.

Wiping away tears, Tara crawled out the door and into the hallway before she could find her feet again and ran to the main door and outside. She didn't know where she was running; just somewhere, somewhere where she wouldn't die and somewhere where she could escape her guilt. She wasn't running long before she smacked into something, someone, and both fell backwards.

Tara looked up through teary eyes and saw she had run into none other than the Slayer and her beau out on nightly patrol.

"Tara?" Buffy asked helping her up, "What's going on?"

Willow let out a snarl as she approached.

"Oh," Buffy said, "that's going on."

"I-is everyone here a vampire?" Willow exclaimed somewhere between shocked and trying to not sound like she was scared out of her mind as Xander pushed his way past the two white hats standing guard at the door.

"Still Human," Oz raised his hand.

"But you're a werewolf." Willow pointed out, turning to face him.

"Point taken,"

Xander's hands closed over Willow's shoulders and spun her to face him. "Y-you're alive?"

"Uh-huh... last time I checked my pulse at least."

Xander cast his gaze up to Giles and Oz, "You brought her back?" One arm clasped around Willow's shoulders the other around her hips as if to protect her. Willow stiffened, causing him to take a step back and look at her.

Oz seized the moment of temporary distraction to grab a stake off the table.

Xander caught the motion out of his eye and grabbed Willow's head threatening to snap her neck if any of them moved.

"You ruined her!" Xander glared, "But don't worry... I can change her back... it'll be fun."

Giles made a move to step forward but Xander lowered his mouth to Willow's neck.

"Not afraid we will restore you then?" Giles asked, a flash of realization of so common stupidity flashed through Xander's eyes.

"We're not through here." He snarled out dragging Willow from the room.

Oz started after them but by the time he got out into the hallway they had vanished. He kicked a wall in fury and walked back to the library.

"Now what the hell are we gonna do?" One of the white hats by the door said, "They've got her and they think we can change vampires back into humans."

"They probably view us as more of a threat now than they did before and also without Willow we can't get the vampire out of her world..."

"We don't even know what they are gonna do to her." Oz said.

"Well we know where he took her, and that's what we have to go on." Giles said.

"The Bronze..."

------

"She's alive?" The Master said looking over at Willow.

"That's what I said." Xander held Willow tighter. "Should I change her back?"

"No... I've got a better idea. If the White Hats restored her... they'll want her back... we use her as bait to lure them here and kill them all." The master laughed pleased with himself.

"What should I do with her until then?"

"Lock her up in the cage next to the puppy. She can be the kitty."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Three**_

A frown settled on Willow's lips as her yellow eyes fixated on Buffy, who folded her arms in reply.

Riley stood looking distraught, "Oh my god... Willow..."

"Oh yeah you two haven't been introduced," Buffy said, her voice lightly laced with venom, "Vamp Willow, Riley. Riley, Vamp Willow."

"I'm lost."

"I'll explain later." Buffy turned to look at Vampire Willow who was circling the three of them looking distraught. "I thought you hated this world, what are you doing here?"

"I didn't ask to be brought here." Her face changed back to it's soft human appearance, fierce eyes fixating on Tara, watching her tremble as they locked eyes for a moment before Tara closed hers and glanced at the ground. "But I found one thing I like about this world."

Buffy brandished her stake, "Where's the real Willow?"

The vampire shrugged, "I dunno. I just woke up in her room."

Willow stared out in the distance before a light smirk found it's way to her lips, "Maybe she's in my world...that would be funny." A shudder of joy ran up her spine, tingling with the thought.

Buffy felt a rage bubbling up inside her, starting in the pit of her stomach. 'How DARE she talk about my best friend like that?' She thought of Willow in the world run by vampires Anya had been responsible for. Anya'd bragged about it in the past, how wonderful that world had been, how she'd wanted to stay there. And now her best friend in the whole world was trapped there with god knows what going to happen to her, and this bitch who just happened to be her best friend in another form, was laughing about it.

She raised her stake high ready to lunge when Tara grabbed her hand, "N-no!"

"Why not?"

"Cause if they really did switch worlds, we might... not be able to switch them back... if one of them is dead...um..." Tara looked at the ground.

"Bored now," Willow yawned, and blew a kiss at Tara before running off.

"Hey!" Riley took off running after her and called over his shoulder to Buffy take Tara back to her room.

Buffy folded her arms, her boyfriend was such a macho man sometimes, and since she couldn't very well stake her she decided she'd let him handle it and let Tara lean on her as she led her back to her dorm room.

Tara sat on the bed with her knees to her chest, pulling her jacket tighter closed over her bare torso. Miss Kitty Fantastico leapt up onto the bed next to her nuzzling her owner's hand gently. Tara slid her hand down scratching the soft fur behind her ear, the kitten let out a soft, sad mew. She knew her owner was troubled.

Buffy tilted her head at she looked at the cat, "I thought we weren't allowed to have pets."

"We're not."

"Oh."

Miss Kitty pushed her way onto Tara's lap and curled up there purring contently.

"What exactly happened?"

"I... I thought she was really Willow..."

"Don't worry...she fooled me and Xander and this guy Willow was tutoring last year too."

"I... we... she..." Tara looked at the floor.

"Syllables and sentences?"

Tara shook her head. Her mouth couldn't even form words anymore. Buffy sat watching her. There was not much she could do to console her without knowing fully what the problem was, though she'd had a few guesses from Tara's sloppy dressing. She could see the dismayed and distant look in Tara's eyes fighting back some kind of sorrow and pain, what kind of pain she could not truly identify.

"We will get Willow back. I promise." Buffy said, laying a hand on Tara's shoulder.

The timid girl flinched recalling the caresses of the girl she thought was the girl she crushed on, the girl she desired to touch her. But it was all lies, filthy lies. And she was filthy for being fooled.

Buffy drew her hand back.

"I-I-I'm gonna go sh-shower." Tara said, moving off the bed, Miss Kitty jumping and landing delicately on the floor.

"Alright. Will you be okay? I can stay here if you need."

Tara shook her head.

"Okay, well if you need me, beep me." She held up her beeper, yes it was old but it was also reliable. "I'm gonna go see if Riley found our undead friend."

Tara nodded slowly and grabbed her shower stuff before walking down the hallway to the bathroom.

Buffy walked out of the building and flipped on her flashlight, heading off to find Riley. She found him rather winded at the edge of the woods. "Got away?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, but I can... send my men after her... with orders to bring her back alive." Riley said between pants. "Damn she's fast."

* * *

The chains rattled around as they hung from the wall down to Willow's wrists. She gave a quick yank, hoping for at least a bit of crumbling stone, but nothing happened. She gave another tug, then one last final hard one, cutting her wrist on the cuff. Blood dripped down her wrist and arm. 

"I got to get back to Tara before something bad happens to her." She muttered to herself. A brief thought of the possibility of a vampire Tara bolted through her mind. That was mildly hot, but scary and scary definitely outweighed hot in that situation. She shook the thought away.

"You're not from here." A voice floated in from the next cell.

"How could you tell?" Willow asked, she knew the voice.

"Because the last time I saw you, you were a vampire, dressed in leather, and throwing matches on me."

Willow looked down at herself; "Human, fuzzy, and I couldn't really light a match right now even if I wanted to." She gave another yank.

"Don't bother," Angel said, "Those chains don't come loose for anyone."

"Well I gotta do something, I can't sit here, someone else is in trouble... since the me from this world is really in my world. Have you ever tried a breakout?"

"Only all the time. I eventually just gave up. The torture is bad enough as it is, it's hard enough to be the only one with a soul among the soulless fiends."

"Well we can't just give up, there's gotta be some crack in the wall or something. If you apply the right amount of pressure at the right angle then...a brick might give way or something." She gave another hard yank, ligaments ripping in her arm as she pulled. She let out a whimper of pain then a sigh. "I remember when Buffy and Xander and I would hang out here... and... pseudo study." She let out a sigh.

"Why didn't they kill you already? The Master and Xander?"

"They think I'm the Willow from this world... they think Giles and Oz turned the vampire me human... and they're using me as bait... wait! Giles and Oz and the others, they'll come for us!"

"They won't live long enough to save us, let alone get near us."

"I bet they'll come up with a plan. Don't underestimate them."

There was a rumble, the walls of the Bronze shook, cracks emerged in the crumbling stone of the walls by the cell. One good yank and Willow freed her arms, chains dangling by her sides.

"What's going on?"

"You underestimated them." A smirk crossed her lips.

Walls continued to crumble around the Bronze and sunlight poured into the main room.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Tara sat on the bed with her knees to her chest, pulling her jacket tighter closed over her bare torso. Miss Kitty Fantastico leapt up onto the bed next to her nuzzling her owner's hand gently. Tara slid her hand down scratching the soft fur behind her ear, the kitten let out a soft, sad mew. She knew her owner was troubled.

Buffy tilted her head at she looked at the cat, "I thought we weren't allowed to have pets."

"We're not."

"Oh."

Miss Kitty pushed her way onto Tara's lap and curled up there purring contently.

"What exactly happened?"

"I... I thought she was really Willow..."

"Don't worry...she fooled me and Xander and this guy Willow was tutoring last year too."

"I... we... she..." Tara looked at the floor.

"Syllables and sentences?"

Tara shook her head. Her mouth couldn't even form words anymore. Buffy sat watching her. Buffy couldn't do much to console her without knowing what happened; however, she had a few guesses from Tara's sloppy dressing. She could see the dismayed and distant look in Tara's eyes fighting back some kind of sorrow and pain, what kind of pain she could not truly identify.

"We will get Willow back. I promise." Buffy said, laying a hand on Tara's shoulder.

The timid girl flinched recalling the caresses of the girl she thought was the girl she crushed on, the girl she desired to touch her. But it was all lies, filthy lies. And she was filthy for being fooled.

Buffy drew her hand back.

"I-I-I'm gonna go sh-shower." Tara said, moving off the bed, Miss Kitty jumping and landing delicately on the floor.

"Alright. Will you be okay? I can stay here if you need."

Tara shook her head.

"Okay, well if you need me, beep me." She held up her beeper, yes, it was old but it was also reliable. "I'm gonna go see if Riley found our undead friend."

Tara nodded slowly and grabbed her shower stuff before walking down the hallway to the bathroom.

Buffy walked out of the building and flipped on her flashlight, heading off to find Riley. She found him rather winded at the edge of the woods. "Got away?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, but I can... send my men after her... with orders to bring her back alive." Riley said between pants. "Damn she's fast."

+

Anya let herself into Xander's basement room and paused in the doorway watching him stumble over his stuff in criss-cross patterns trying to find his coat and car keys and then in his distraction walked right into her.

"Oh An, didn't see you there." He said helping her back to her feet.

"Where are you going?"

"Scooby gang business." He said

"At this hour of the night? I wanted to boink."

"Straight to the point as ever." Xander nodded. "Well I really have to go. We have a Willow vamp on the loose and An, if I recall, if it weren't for you, we wouldn't have the problem in the first place."

Anya folded her arms, "So you're saying it's all my fault."

"Not in so many words... actually yes.. yes it is. You conjured up this wishverse of Cordelia's and now we get this vamp version of my best friend who seems to keep waltzing in and out of this world."

"First of all, the world existed beforehand, I just happened to find it for Cordelia and put her there, second of all if you didn't break her heart, that wouldn't have happened."

"Yeah well you did that spell with Willow that accidentally brought her here and eternally messed up these two separate worlds."

"Well she couldn't have come here without a spell involved and I was home all day touching myself and thinking of you, so it couldn't have been me."

"Yeah well... you were really thinking of me?"

Anya nodded.

"I love it when you're blunt." Xander kissed her on the forehead. "But I gotta go. Just stay put. We can boink when I get back." He then dashed off closing the door.

Anya sighed and sat down on the bed. The door opened and Xander poked his head back in the room. "Oh and when the buzzer goes off can you put laundry detergent in the wash? Thanks." He ran out, hopped into his clunker of a car and drove off towards UCSD and Riley's dorm, from which he'd received the urgent phone call from Buffy. He parked the car and walked inside catching Buffy and Riley mid-french. Buffy pulled back wiping her mouth and gazing at Xander. "Um... hey, how'd you get here so soon?"

"Oh you know, speed limits are for losers. So what's the scoop?"

"Well we have an order out to bring the HST back alive... but we still have no idea how she got here." Riley said.

"I do. Anya kinda dropped a hint. The only way that Vamp Willow could have gotten here was a spell. And since she doesn't like this world, chances our Wil botched some spell but good."

"What kind of spell?" Buffy asked. "Wait. There was a spell book on her bed. We should see if it was bookmarked."

"Lead the way," Xander said, as Buffy got up and led the other two back to her dorm room, and looked around for the spell book that had gone missing from the bed. They were not hard to find, Willow was neat and organized, this book was shoved in a corner. Buffy pulled it out and found a dog-eared page. "To summon the strengthening of courage." She read.

"Well it looks like she summoned something, Wil's batting 0 for 1 today." Xander said.

"This really isn't time to be making jokes." Riley said.

"Well how do we get her back, there has to be a spell." Buffy flipped through the book, "Ugh this is all gibberish to me."

"Well then we need a witch who can read this." Xander said.

"Tara? No...she's really out of it."

"What other choice do we have?" Riley asked.  
"We have lots of other choices!" Buffy protested. "I just... can't think of one at the moment." She folded her arms and sighed. "But we can't ask her for help, I mean we barely know her and she's been through a lot."

"They're really close, Tara cares about Willow, I'm sure she'll want to help." Riley said.

"You guys haven't seen her, she's a wreck. I'm not sure what happened to her exactly but she was not in a happy place. We should give her some time."

"If you give her some time, Willow might DIE in that world." Xander said, "I'm not going to sit back and lose my best friend to some blood happy vamps." He turned to Riley, "Let's go find Tara."

The two boys headed for the door before Buffy finally got to her feet and followed.

Tara lay upon her bed, sheets askew, bathrobe tied tightly around her. She sat dangling a string that frayed from the robe in front of Miss Kitty who lay on her back, batting at it. A sad smile lingered on the witch's lips as she focused on the actions of the kitten hoping it would make her forget the sinister caresses, which her body absorbed earlier that night. She could still feel each touch, afraid that each would show as a deep bruise on her skin. None of them had been hard enough to create a mark, but the shame was getting to her.

She'd forgotten to close the door completely upon returning from the shower and jumped slightly when the door swung open and in traipsed Riley, Xander, and Buffy. She curled her knees closer and Miss Kitty's tail fluffed up sensing her owner's change in mood. She relaxed slightly when Buffy stepped forward.

"Tara, I know this has been a nightmare, but we really need your help to get Willow back."

"H… how can I help?" Tara said sitting up, "I could do a locator spell."

"Well we know where she is. She's in another dimension. Somehow, she and creepy vampire Willow got switched. We think Willow was doing a spell and something backfired."

"C-could we switch them back… using the spell Willow was doing?" Talk of magic made Tara less stutter-y than usual.

"I don't think so, since the switch was caused by a spell blooper or something," Xander said. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Anyways, vamp Willow took off, we haven't been able to find her and we don't even know if the real Willow is still alive in that vampire world." Riley said

Tara shuddered visibly. Buffy rolled her eyes at Riley then looked at Tara "Willow's fine, she can take care of herself, but the sooner we get her home the better."

"I…I think I can contact her in that world… and pull her back."

"Good," Xander clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "What's the plan?"

Tara got up out of bed and walked over to her desk. Willow had left her sweater the last time she was over and Tara was holding it to give it back to her. She picked up the blue garment and searched for any stray hairs. She was able to pick off a few red strands, smiling sadly. She loved Willow's hair, it was so soft. She walked back to the bed and reached over to the nightstand where she had three candles and lit all three, she took out a beautiful turquoise stone.

"If this works, the turquoise and Willow's hair should allow me to connect to her…that way we can communicate… all I need then is to.. set up a portal.." She gulped softly, I hope this works she thought. She burned three of the hairs, one with each candle and set the rest within the triangle formed by them and set the stone on top of the hairs. She closed her eyes and focused deeply. "Willow…" she sent the thought out, "Can you hear me?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Four

Flash, spark, explosion; the front walls of the Bronze crumbled. Sunlight poured in through the cracks at first sending the few vamps milling around the pool tables bored running for the corners, which didn't save them from going up in flames when the front wall finally crumbled

Oz stared at the dusted air. "How do you fit 100 vamps in a car? 2 in the front, 3 in the back, and 95 in the ashtray."

"This is hardly the time for jokes."

Meanwhile the Master sat stewing, they couldn't fight back in the daylight damn it.

Willow sat at the bars of the cell peering out into the hallway. Her face brightened when she saw the four white hats running over. Oz started picking the lock on the cell. "We gotta get out of here before they find some SPF 1000." He flung the door open while the others looked for signs of an ambush and Oz set to work unlocking the second cage.

Angel looked up, "No, just go, don't waste time on me anyways, I won't make it out at this time of day." He said urgently. He was sure he could hear approaching footsteps.

"You expect us to just leave you?" Willow exclaimed

"Yes. I'm okay, they won't kill me."

A few vamp voices could be heard approaching from a darkened hallway.

"Hurry and get out!" Angel said.

"Come on" Giles insisted, Oz tugged at Willow's arm to get her moving.

"We'll come back, Angel!" Willow called over her shoulder as they pulled her out to the van. They slammed the door and sped back to the school.

"What a Saturday, huh?" Larry commented.

"You realize we can't go back for him?" Giles said.

Willow looked out the back window, "I wish we could, he's got a soul you know, he's a good vampire… Cordelia once said he was like a care bear with fangs…"

"But we can't go back, we have no idea what they are going to do now that the Bronze is mostly rubble." Giles slid off his glasses and cleaned them before putting them back on.

Willow sighed staring back out the window as they sped onwards. "They're not gonna be happy with us."

"No."

"The might put together a huge army to come after us.," Oz said, "But what else is new."

The sun was already starting to set, by the time they were back at the school. Willow sat with them as all the white hats with the exception of Giles sat whittling stakes out of broken chairs from around the school.

Nancy walked over to Giles trying to read over his shoulder. "What if we can't get her back?" She whispered, but Willow could still hear.

"I… I'm not sure…I can't find anything. Not without a connection to the other dimension."

Willow felt something drop in her stomach. She wished she'd had anything, anything she shared with Tara. That answer would have been obvious but she had not expected to be sucked right into Vampy land.

The sun was down. She continued to whittle until her hand slipped and she sliced her finger open. "Ow…"

"Willow, can you hear me?" the voice sounded in her head.

Willow looked around, no one was talking.

"Willow? Can you hear me?"

"Tara?" Willow said.

Oz blinked, "Who are you talking to?"

"Oh goddess, you're alright. You're alright, aren't you? Not hurt?"

"I cut my finger, but I think I'll survive." Willow replied.

"Is she mental?" Nancy asked.

"Good, now that I found you, I just need t-to open a portal, it'll take a little while will you be okay?"

"Yeah I think I…"

Willow trailed off as the door to the library swung open and a good 10 vampires swarmed in.

"Tara, just hurry!"

Willow grabbed up a stake from the table, as did Nancy, Oz, and Larry. Giles ran to get his crossbow. The vampires stood waiting, as if they needed someone to press a button before they could go anywhere when Xander pushed his way to the front of the group, "Have fun guys… but she…" he pointed at Willow, "She is mine."

Willow stumbled back, her first instinct, which she decided was run. And she did. She made a beeline for the back of the library where she knew there was a vent.

Outside was far too risky, also they probably had others standing guard. She didn't want to abandon the others but when it's fight or flight, generally flight is the better option. She crawled through the vents, expecting Xander to show up behind her at any moment. Good thing she knew the school's vents by heart. She finally dropped down into the cafeteria, which was pretty much in shambles, most of the tables and chairs were turned over.

Unfortunately, Xander was waiting for her. She gripped the stake tighter.

"Come on, Willow. You know it only hurts for a minute. Don't you want it again?" He was slowly advancing on her, "Don't you want the power? The thrill that comes with being a creature of the night? Face it right now you are on the losing team. I'm doing you a favor. Sunnydale is the land of the vampires, and nothing will change that. Join us again. "

Xander had her backed up against the wall. Willow raised the stake, hand shaking slightly at the thought of dusting someone who looked just like her life long friend…and in fact WAS her life long friend… only…bulgy and yellow eyed and fangy. Great.

Xander saw her about the bring the stake down and grabbed her wrist, twisting until the wood slipped and hit the floor with a clatter.

"Repel!" Willow shouted and a force threw Xander back.

"Feisty, where'd you pick up that magic trick?"

"Willow," Tara's voice came back, "The portal is ready."

Willow saw Xander getting back up.

"Focus on my energy and I'll pull you back."

"Alright, hurry." Willow stood against the wall trying to focus on Tara's power that she could feel enveloping her, or wait, was that Xander's hands closing on her shoulder, his mouth closing on her neck. She didn't open her eyes to find out because she felt the touch fading away and with a rush she felt that she was on a carpeted floor and god knows the cafeteria didn't have carpeting. Then it all went black.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Willow's could feel the carpet beneath her but then, nothing. Black.

"She's not getting up," Buffy said and knelt next to Willow examining her and discovering the deep bite on her neck, "Not good."

"I-i-is she gonna be alright?" Tara said quietly.

"She looks like she lost a lot of blood, and she's still bleeding" Riley commented, "We should get her to the hospital," he walkie-talkie rumbled, "Hold on one sec," he left the room.

"I'll call for an ambulance," Buffy said, "Get something to stop the blood. Tara, can I use your phone?"

"S-sure," Tara then took off her pillowcase and folded it up, Xander took the case and pressed it against Willow's neck.

Miss Kitty walked over and sadly nuzzled Willow's cheek urging her to get up, but she was still. Tara knelt down next to her and watched her chest intently, looking for motion. There was a shallow swelling and falling. Tara bit her lip.

"Okay, the ambulance is on the way," Buffy said looking up from the phone. She caught Tara's tearing eyes and walked over to her, "Willow's going to be fine."

"Sh-she's not… going to turn into one i-is sh-she?" Tara looked up at Buffy.

"No, I mean she's still alive. You got to be dead before you become a vampire."

"Besides one vampire Willow running around out there is bad enough," Riley said walking back into the room, "She's already killed one of our guys and they lost track of her again. We have no idea what she is up to. Is there anyone she might turn to, any one in this universe she knows?"

"I don't think so." Buffy said.

Sirens approached, lights, sound, stretcher, EMTs in blue, a stretcher, checking vitals. Tara sat and watched everyone around her. It was too much, she couldn't process it, so she just sat and drowned in the chaos. What had happened, someone had asked her, she couldn't reply she just stared at Willow on the stretcher as they took her out of them room.

"She was bitten by an angry puppy." Buffy replied. "We brought her here and she fainted."

The angry puppy thing usually got a lot of mileage.

Buffy knelt down next to Tara, "Are you going to come to the hospital with us? Xander's driving,"

Tara felt numb but she supposed she must have nodded yes, as Buffy extended her hand and helped Tara to her feet and down the stairs to Xander's waiting car. The drive was blur, the two hours in the waiting room felt to be one million years and half a second at the same time, before a doctor came out to tell them that Willow was awake.

Willow smiled weakly as she saw Xander, Buffy, and Tara walked into the room. Tara sat on a chair next to the bed, as the others stood by her side.

"Two bites in one year, maybe that's some kinda good luck or something?" Willow joked.

"You just tell me who did this to you and I will dust them faster than you can say hopscotch." Xander said, making a manly show of hitting one hand with his fist.

"You," Willow replied.

"Is it too late to take back aforementioned sentence?"

"So am I really home?" Willow said,

"No," Buffy said, "You are in the world without shrimp."

"World without shrimp?" Tara said.

Willow turned to look at her and reached for her hand, "Are you okay?"

Tara drew her hand back, shyly.

Willow frowned softly. "I take it you met her?"

Tara nodded slowly.

"Where is she?" Willow asked, "Did she go back to her world?"

"Nope, she's still at large," Xander said, "Soldier boy is off looking for her again."

"Oh," Willow replied.

"I'm going to give a call to Angel, see if he can hook me up with Cordelia, since it's her world maybe she might have information to tell us." Buffy said. "Plus this place is giving me the wiggins."

"And I'm gonna find Anya since she might have a clue." Xander said.

An odd silence filled the space between the two witches as they suddenly found themselves alone in the hospital room. Willow looked up at Tara. Their eyes locked for a moment before Tara glanced away. Willow frowned softly. It wasn't until after another nurse came in and checked Willow's vitals before either of them spoke.

"What did she do to you, Tara?"

"She…. n-n-nothing." She whispered.

"But she did do something, I can tell."

"Can…. Can we not t-t-talk about it?" Tara sighed.

Another odd silence.

"Th-they said you were working on a spell…when you summoned her…"

"I didn't mean to summon –her-, I was trying to summon something else." Willow said.

"W-w-well?"

Willow took a deep breath, "Well…courage."

"But why? Y-y-you're one of the bravest p-p-people I know."

"I had something very difficult to face…and if I did it wrong… I felt I would just die…"

"W-what was it?"

Willow swallowed hard. "Telling…" a deep breath, "Telling you... I love you."

Silence.

Tara cast her glance to the ground.

Willow closed her eyes and sighed, perhaps she had been reading too much into Tara's actions around her. She whimpered trying not to cry when she felt something warm on her forehead. She looked up to see Tara kissing her softly on her forehead. Willow smiled and reached up to touch her cheek, but Tara pulled back.

"Please… don't t-t-touch me… not right now…"

"But why?"

"I… I can't… not now… but… I do.." Tara whispered.

"Do?"

"L-love you too,"

Willow smiled brightly, and was about to speak when the sound of someone clearing their throat was heard.

Willow looked up, "Oz? Wh-what are you doing here?"

"I saw Riley, he told me you were here. I um… wasn't expecting this," he said, classic Oz.

Tara looked embarrassed and slunk back in her chair, looking at the floor, her hair hiding her face. 


	7. Chapter 7

Tara slowly stood up and ducked out of the room, brushing past Oz. Willow thought she heard a soft sob. Oz's eyes followed Tara as she left the room and looked over at Willow.

"I guess this is irony." Oz said, even more blankly than usual.

"What's ironic about it?" Willow said quietly.

"Well, I had a thing with another girl..and now you're having a thing with another girl." He sat down on the chair next to the bed. He seemed not to understand the words he was saying.

"I guess that's kind of ironic. Why do you do that?" Willow said.

"Do what?"

"You're always calm. I mean even now…"

Oz took a deep breath, "Well I did leave you so… it's a good deal my fault. Too traumatized by men?"

"That's not it Oz." Willow said trying to sit up. "I didn't go for her or anything… it just happened…" she took a deep breath, "Can we talk about something else?"

"Well I came here to tell you there was something bad going on at the school."

"What happened?"

"Well I was on my way to the dorm to meet you and… let's say that UC Sunnydale is going to be short one dorm's worth of students. Drained, we have got a serious gang of vampires on the loose."

"Um… Oz? You didn't happen to see me around campus today have you?"

Oz shook his head. "Did you split yourself in two or something?"

"Not quite. But you should tell Buffy before we lose another dorm."

"Speak of the devil and she shall come." Oz said looking up and seeing Buffy walk into the room.

"Did Cordelia have any information?" Willow asked.

"Nope, just that came down with a slight case of death while she was there."

"That's a nasty one," Oz replied.

"I hope Xander has some more luck." Willow said.

A knock sounded on Xander's door and Anya got up to answer it. She was completely bare, a pile of folded clean laundry on the machine, and smiling ready to surprise Xander. She frowned seeing Willow at the door. "I thought you were Xander."

"Long time no see," Willow smirked.

"I just saw you yesterday,"

Willow sauntered into the room, "You don't remember me."

"You're Willow, you got smoochy with Xander and that's why I'm here."

"You've mistaken me for that fluffy girl. I'm the other one, the better one." She smirked and her face grew bulgey.

"Oh I remember you! How are you?"

"I've been better. What about you?

"I've been having lots of sex."

"Fascinating. I have a proposition for you."

"Sorry, I don't do girls."

"Too bad, but that's not why I'm here. See I figure now that I'm here and know things better than I did the first time, I won't make the same mistakes and could do a much better job of remaking my world here. And I know you have power, want to join up with me? We could rule the town."

"Last time you did that, you got your butt kicked."

"I didn't know what I was up against. Now I do."

"Sorry, I'm not a demon anymore."

Willow bared her fangs, "I can fix that."

"Oh please, one thing you don't like and all you vampires go all bitey. Please it's getting old. You got your ass kicked last time."

"I'll kick your ass," Willow growled striking Anya across the face and knocking her to the ground.

Willow looked up hearing a door open.

Xander walked into the bedroom and saw Anya lying naked, alone, one the floor of his room with four long, red, bleeding scratches on her face. He ran over and knelt next to her, "What happened?"

"Crazy vampire Willow was in here, she wanted me to join her little group of demons, but she had a bunny on her shirt, it freaked me out, so I wouldn't go with her."

"Whoa, whoa, rewind, group of demons?"

"Yeah, she said she was gonna take over Sunnydale or at least try to, you know she really has bad fashion taste for a vampire. What happened to all the leather?"

"Anya, this is more important than just clothes, speaking of which can you put some on because this is rather distracting. We have a situation to deal with here. "

Anya looked down at the slight bulge in Xander's pants and sighed, "I really wanted to boink, you know."

"How about when we don't have some kind of crazy Willow on the loose. She is FAR from stable and with a gang of demons she could prove to be very dangerous."

Anya shimmied back into her dress, "Well she wouldn't tell me what she's after. Probably to boink. She has that boink vibe about her. Like all she wants to do is get in bed and I think she does girls. Maybe she does both… maybe she's an anything that moves kind of girl."

"Anya, think about something besides sex."

"Why? Isn't that all you think about?"

"Yes, I'm 19, it's practically my job to think about sex, but not when we have a group of god knows how many vampires and demons out there. I'd call that a clue, I better tell Buffy."

+++

Music blared and bounced off the walls around the bronze as Vampire Willow made her entrance after a little shopping spree. She wore a new pair of leather pants which hung low off her hips, a bright red thong peeking just above the waistband, knee-high boots with a multitude of big silver buckles, and a black corset style lace-up tube-top that made her breasts threaten to pop right out.

She scanned the Bronze looking for her rendezvous. Eventually she spotted her, the pale blonde in the corner, fussing over her pink nail polish. She didn't —seem- like vampire material but word was she was the big vamp in town at the moment, and word was she was dating William the Bloody so she could be a powerful ally.

She sauntered over, one hand on her hip, swaying as she walked. "Harmony, I presume?"

"Hey, like, I know you. I hate you. Why are you here, go away before I bite you. In fact, I'll just bite you now."

"Won't help." Willow said, flashing her fangs for a brief moment.

"Whoa, when did that happen? I thought you were with Buffy and her annoying band of dweebs."

"Let's get a drink and I'll tell you everything."

---

Vampire Willow kicked the body of the clubber she and Harmony had drained over their little chat.

"So you want you and your minions, to join me and my minions? That sounds fun!" Harmony said licking the last bit of blood from her lips.

"What about your boyfriend?" She asked.

"Oh," Harmony scoffed, "Spike? I forgot where that loser is."

"Too bad, he'd make a powerful ally."

"Sure, right, then he'll try to stake you, then leave you, then beg you to take him back, just whatever. He just wants the sex."

"Guys know jack shit about good sex."

"And you know better?"

"Yeah, but I've got my eye on another girl. Sorry, we can still fuck if you want."

"Sorry but I'd, like, have to be a whole lot drunker to even thing about it."

Willow bent over and dug the wallet out of the corpse's pocket. "I can pay."

++++

Oz watched Buffy walk out of the room with her ringing cell phone then down at his hands. Now he could clearly see them shaking. The impact of Willow's words hadn't fully hit him yet, he felt as though they were actors running lines, singers saying the lyrics. The thought was mind blowing so he'd chosen to ignore it. Now the impact hit him, the scent of Willow began to flood his senses, more and more. He could feel the hairs on his body standing on end, the tingling in his hands that came with change. Damn! Wasn't he over this? Wasn't he cured. "I… I have to go." Oz got up bumping into Buffy as he fled.

She clicked the phone shut with a shudder. "I don't want to know…anyways I have a lead as to the whole slaughter-palooza that happened in the dorms. Vamp Wil is working on creating a new gang, we need to keep an eye on the dorm and see if any of those guys plan on going out for a bite. As soon as Xander stops having sex, or so it sounds, we'll get him to help but until then, I'm going to go out myself."

"Wil, you wait here, the doctors said you might be able to leave tonight. I'm sure Tara will watch over you." Buffy looked around the room, "Where did Tara go?"

"I don't know," Willow looked at the ground.

"I'm sure she's just in the waiting room, Willow. I'll find her. Where did Oz run off to in such a hurry?"

"I don't know…"

"Did something happen between you two?"

"It's… it's hard to talk about."

"Willow, I'm your best friend, you can tell me anything." Buffy sat down on the edge of the bed. "I thought you'd be all woohoo that Oz is back and… you seem to be… not. I thought you'd be back together in a heartbeat."

"We're not going to be back together…" she sighed. "There's… someone else… someone else..."

"You've been seeing another guy? And you didn't tell me?"

"Well… not exactly seeing… and… not exactly guy."

"Color me confused."

"I'm… falling… falling… for Tara…"

Buffy got up with a start. "Oh… um...well." she began to pace at the foot of the bed, "That's great. I… think Tara's a wonderful girl."

"She is."

You have to… follow your heart, Wil, That's what's important Wil,"

"Why do you keep saying my name like that?"

"Like what, Wil?"

"Are you freaked?"

"No, Wil," Buffy took a deep breath, "No, absolutely no… I'm glad you told me. And I guess I'm just… surprised I guess." She sat down again. "I didn't expect… Wow, I must sound like a pretty lame friend."

"I didn't expect it either… it just kind of happened. It's totally different from what I felt for Oz…and I like it, I'm happy."

Buffy smiled slightly and the two sat in silence for a moment.

"I gotta go for now. I need to deal with some potential vampires. The only thing worse than frat boys are undead, bloodsucking frat boys… there should be laws against turning the obnoxious and the stupid into vampires."

"Whoever sired Harmony should have been taught that." Willow smiled.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Swaggering and drunk, Willow and Harmony made their way back to Harmony's hideout when they caught a flash of fur dash in front of them, tripping up the totally smashed Harmony.

"Hey fuzz ball!" Willow slurred. "Watch where the fuck you're going!"

The flash of fur turned a distorted canine-like face up towards the two, sniffing the air around Willow and circling her, then sitting down at her feet and looking up at her, almost whimpered with forlorn and pleading eyes. He was intoxicated, here she was, different but the same, would she turn him away too?

"Aww, a werewolf!" Harmony exclaimed and leaned over to pet it, but it snapped at her hand and she drew back, then it looked back to Willow.

"Why does it like you so much?" Harmony asked,

Willow stumbled and knelt down to come face to face with the werewolf "You're a cutie aren't you? Do you wanna come work with me? You can be my pet."

Oz growled and lowered his head.

"One gang of vampires/demons/ooglies?" Buffy said

"Check," replied Xander.

"One dorm of missing dead frat boys," Buffy said looking around the empty, bloodstained building.

"Check," replied Riley shining his flashlight in a corner.

"One loose psycho best friend doppelganger?" Buffy said

"Check," Xander said, finding one body with a massive bite taken out of its neck.

"One best friend in the hospital?" Buffy sighed.

"Not check," Willow said walking into the dorm, looking a bit tired but otherwise okay. "But one government experiment still running around, big check. Is anyone else worried that Adam is going to find this little gang of hers?"

"Sunnydale is like a box of chocolates," Xander said, "you never know what kind of evil each little day has in store." He looked down seeing the previously dead body at his feet stirring. "Like this little nasty."

"I'll get him," Buffy said, walking over to the dazed vampire and staking him before he had a clue as to what was going on.

Willow glanced around the room, "Do we have any idea where we go from here?"

"Well we need to work on finding Vampire Willow but that's easier said than done," Riley said.

"Try the Bronze, maybe someone there will have seen her. I mean it seems like that's where she'd be since that was the big vamp hangout there," Willow said. Buffy noticed she seemed antsy and looking around more than usual.

"Tara isn't here," Buffy said.

"And she wasn't in the waiting room," Willow said.

"She's probably in her room. You should go check."

"No,.. I… I should help you guys look for.. um… me."

"No, Willow, besides if she has your clothes we might accidentally stake you," Xander said. "And that would get messy. You've had enough trips to the hospital today, Wil."

Willow looked to Buffy again, trying to gauge what she was thinking but couldn't find anything. Willow looked away and ran back towards Tara's dorm. She knocked on the door and found that it swung open and the lights were off.

Willow stepped tentatively into the room, "Tara?"

She didn't hear anything.

"Tara?" She called again. She looked down and saw Miss Kitty Fantastico's eyes glowing at her from the dark. The feline gave a soft mew then turned and jumped onto the bed, where Willow heard a whimper.

"Tara?" Willow whispered stepping closer to her.

"No stop!" Tara shouted, sitting upright, starting out of a nightmare, a cold sweat made her face shine in the light from the doorway, tears filling up her eyes, Willow could see her chest rising and falling frantically through the fabric of her nightgown.

"Tara, it's just me," Willow said walking over to the bed and sitting down. "I promise."

Tara curled her knees to her chest and looked at Willow, studying her, studying her aura, then nodded and looked down.

"Are you okay?"

"I-it was j-j-just a dream," Tara said softly.

Willow placed a hand on Tara's cheek, she felt the other girl flinch but not pull away. "Can you tell me what it was about?"

"A m-m-monster."

"What kind of monster?"

"A… t-t-tricky one."

"What did the monster do to make you cry?" Willow said moving her hand from Tara's cheek to her hand and squeezed it gently. Tara was silent. "In the dream," Willow felt a little relieved when Tara gave her hand a light squeeze in return.

"It h-h-hurt me… i-i-it touched m-me… it m-m-made me think… i-i-it was someone…else and… I b-believed it… I l-l-let it touch me and… I sh-shouldn't have… i-it had c-claws.. and f-fangs… like a d-dr-dragon… and…" Tara began to cry softly.

Willow reached up and brushed Tara's tears away. She didn't flinch but looked up into Willow's eyes.

"Th-then… I w-w-woke up," Tara whispered.

Willow looked at her, "I know what would have happened if you had stayed asleep." She squeezed Tara's hand. "A beautiful goddess on a white horse would have come, not a prince because princes are overrated, and would have slain the dragon and rescued you and… she would have taken you somewhere where you would be safe and you make all the pain go away."

"Wh-what would the g-g-goddess look like?" Tara said looking up into Willow's eyes.

"Hmn…" Willow said.

"L-l-like you?" Tara said leaning her head on Willow's shoulder.

"Would you have liked that?" Willow said putting her arms comfortingly around Tara and felt her nod against her shoulder. "Good."

Tara closed her eyes as she felt Willow's soft hands stroking her hair, "And… I would h-h-have felt a little s-s-safer in the goddess's arms."

"The goddess would feel bad because she couldn't protect you sooner." The redhead smiled sadly as she looked down at the blonde.

"I.. I'd k-know it wasn't the g-g-goddess's fault."

"The goddess would want to know what she could do to make you feel better."

"W-would the g-g-goddess sit and watch over me?" She opened her blue eyes and looked up into Willow's which were glimmering with frustrated tears.

"Yes, she would," Willow said, helping Tara lie back down and covering her with the comforters. Willow got up to close the door then lay down next to Tara and stroked her hair until she fell asleep.


End file.
